EXPERTS: TEST OCEAN AS A DUMPING GROUND

WOODS HOLE, Mass. -- A group of leading oceanographers on Thursday called for a massive experiment to test the ocean's potential as a dumping ground for millions of tons of sewage sludge and toxic waste.

In a proposal that flies in the face of prevailing public opinion, and challenges traditional ideas about the sanctity of the seas, the scientists proposed intering garbage in the deep ocean as part of an "industrial-scale" test of the health and environmental effects of marine waste disposal.

Although most scientists would prefer not to dump garbage in the oceans, researchers meeting at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, which is one of the world's leading marine institutions, say using the deep seas may be one of the only ways to spare the land and air from additional pollution from landfills and incineration.

"I don't think anyone wants to advocate ocean dumping," said Derek Spencer, a senior scientist at the institute, who is leading the campaign to study ocean dumping. "But the waste problem is there and it's not going away. Indeed, it is going to get far worse. Perhaps the bottom of the sea is the best place for some wastes. Yet nobody wants to hear that."

Ocean dumping has been one of the most reviled ways for disposing of waste. Congress has banned all ocean dumping starting next year.

But the scientists say the dumping ban was propelled by "environmental hysteria." The deep ocean far from shore, they say, might be a more appropriate place for certain waste. They argue that the oceans may in fact be a far better place than landfills on the coast, which pollute inshore waters with run-off, degrading beaches and fishing grounds.